You’ll go wild for winter tours

Put the cart before the horse for a change and choose a tour you’d like to do on a holiday before sorting out flights. Encounters Travel has some winter deals where you can see amazing wildlife including mountain gorillas, above, and fascinating historical sites.

The cheapest tour is from £199, for the new eight-night Egypt on a Shoestring taking travellers on a journey to the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, Cairo, Aswan and Luxor. Explorers will have the chance to cruise down the Nile in a traditional felucca, visit the beautiful island temple of Philae and the pharaonic tombs in the Valley of the Kings, along with a spectacular hot air balloon flight to watch the sunrise over the West Bank of the Nile.

The price of £199, saving £200, is for selected departures in December and includes transfers, varied accommodation on a mixed-board basis, with four nights in five-star hotels, two nights on a felucca boat and two overnight luxury coach journeys, the services of a famous Egyptologist guide and an Egypt visa.

The Garden Route eight-day tour is ideal to enjoy with family and friends as group bookings of four or more get a 15 per cent discount. Exploring the iconic sights and sounds of South Africa, the famous route starts in Cape Town, taking in the breathtaking coastline before heading inland to Port Elizabeth and Stellenbosch, famous for its world-class wine. With a chance to spot wildlife in Addo Elephant National Park, an extreme bungee off the Bloukrans Bridge and cave crawling, there is plenty of adventure. The price of £638 per person, saving £112, is for bookings on four or more adults and for departures between January 20 and March 17 and includes transfers, accommodation in three and four-star hotels and lodges on a mixed-board basis and the services of a local tour leader. Bookings for less than four cost £750 per person.

The new Gorillas & Plains 16-day adventure tour takes in the magnificent lakes and wildlife parks of Kenya, including the famous Masai Mara, before travelling across Uganda and the Equator and up into the jungle for some trekking to see the mountain gorillas and orphaned chimpanzees on Ngamba Island. The tour costs from £1,235 per person, saving £214. Valid for selected departures in February and March, the price includes transfers, 15 nights varied accommodation in hotels, camps, lodges and a wildlife education centre on a mixed-board basis, an experienced local guide and private transportation on expedition vehicles.

International flights not included. Click here to book with www.encounterstravel.com